Spinning the Mobile
by crescent-moon-demon
Summary: Sequel to 'Rocking the Cradle'. Stuck in bed, Naruto creates an online journal to keep himself occupied. Time to remember some of the best and worst moments of highschool, before he came to Japan looking for Sasuke. SasuNaru
1. ReIntroduction

**C.M.D: here it is!! The Long awaited sequel to **_**Rocking The Cradle. **_**I hope everyone enjoys, and much thanks to everyone who reviewed and favourited **_**Rocking the Cradle.**_

**Summary: Bedridden because of his own recklessness, Naruto has to try to find something to do during the long days while Sasuke's busy at work. It's to the internet, to cure his boredom! Then Naruto comes across something to keep him preoccupied. An online journal gets him remembering his highschool life. Laughs, embarrassments, homework problems and highschool romance. Oh the joys of reminiscing...**

* * *

A man was resting in bed, his leg propped up by a couple pillows, while a second man plumped the larger pillow behind the first man's head.

"And what if I get bored?," the first man asked. His gaze was locked on his older partner, who moved from the side of the bed to a chair by the window.

"Then you can do your schoolwork," the other male replied, picking a book bag off of the chair and carrying it over to the bed's night stand.

The younger man pouted, looking at his bag distastefully. "But schoolwork's boring. What if I get tired of that... what then?"

The second person pinched at the bridge of his nose in annoyance, hand brushing at black bangs as he pulled it away from his face. "Then read a book, play a game, go on the internet, keep a journal... do something to amuse yourself with."

"Not everyone can do that stuff constantly every single day Sasuke," the other male retorted.

Sasuke fixed the younger man with a glare. "And whose fault is that...Na-ru-to?"

The mentioned blonde chuckled embarrassingly, hand scratching at the back of his head. "I still stick by the fact that the stair moved of its own accord."

The raven shook his head at the ridiculous lie and even Naruto knew it was weak. The stair hadn't moved, he'd slipped. But it wasn't really his fault, he thought. _'It was the rain's fault. Making the steps all slippery like that.'_ That day it had started out beautifully, and was quickly darkened by thunder clouds that appeared out of nowhere and burst their load upon the area.

Naruto, unfortunately had gone out for lunch (at this place called Ichiraku's that served the most delicious thing he'd ever discovered: ramen!) and was halfway back to the school when the storm snuck up on him. Trying not to get soaked, the blonde decided to run the last bit of distance back to the University. Not thinking, the blue-eyed teen rushed up the stairs and slipped on one of the steps. The Uzumaki wind-milled for a bit, before falling backwards and back down the steps he'd climbed up.

Lucky for him, he came out of it with only a few minor scratches and a broken leg. Sasuke wasn't really happy with him though, when he came to the hospital to find the blonde still damp, lying in the white hospital bed. Well, the raven was more upset than angry, not that he'd ever admit it but Naruto could tell. It made him feel a little guilty for making the Uchiha worry so much.

But now, he was stuck in bed with nothing to do. Sasuke had convinced the University to allow him to still stay in his courses, paying them a hefty amount of money so that all the notes and assignments would be sent to Naruto's email for the blonde to complete and hand back in via the internet. Of course, the workload wouldn't deter from the fact that he still couldn't get out of bed.

"What if I want to go outside?," Naruto whined. His fingers were already undoing the strap on his bag, opening it up so he could pull his laptop out. Sasuke walked back over to his side, grabbing the laptop's power cord and striding over to the closest outlet.

"Then I'll have someone bring a wheelchair around, and carry you downstairs," Sasuke answered, standing back up after plugging in the cord. Naruto huffed, turning on his laptop. Apparently he wouldn't be going outside, because both him and Sasuke knew that he had too much pride to be carried around.

Sasuke noticed his reaction, and swallowed back another sigh. God...ever since Naruto had walked back into his life, he'd been feeling more exasperated often and sighing alot, just like he had when he had first met the blonde. "I'll have dinner brought up in an hour," he announced, heading toward the door. He paused, looking back at the Uzumaki. "You're not to get up. The doctor said you had to refrain from doing anything that will exert yourself."

Naruto began to pout at the order, blinking as the words totally sunk in. "So wait...," he said. The Uchiha turned around to fully face him, waiting for the blonde to finish his thought. "That means I can't do any physical stuff, right?," he asked. Sasuke blinked, then nodded his head. Naruto felt his lips twitch into a small grin, his brows furrowed a bit. "So...that means no sex, right?"

Sasuke looked at him blankly, before spinning around and leaving the room. The Uzumaki burst into a fit of laughter, trying to restrain himself from moving his injured leg. Obviously, his lover wasn't so happy with that one detail of his recovery process. Naruto himself didn't mind so much. He had waited eleven years to see the raven again, and to have sex as well, a month or two wouldn't make a difference now.

Also, since his coming back, sex was a regular occurence for the couple. It was just a little too much of a daily thing. Finally calming down, Naruto wondered how Sasuke would manage.

* * *

"So...he's sleeping in the guest room?" Naruto placed his spoon down, ignoring his miso soup to hear what Hinata had to say. She was a very pretty woman, patient and kind, and it had shocked him when he'd heard her last name. It turns out that she was Neji's cousin. What were the odds? The shy little raven-haired woman who worked part-time as Sasuke's house keeper blushed, gazing down at her feet.

"Yes. informed me that he'll be taking the guest bedroom. So that you can heal quickly, he said," Hinata answered. Naruto frowned a little at her response, but shrugged, returning to his meal. Sasuke not sharing the bed with him meant he wouldn't get molested in his sleep. Though he would miss the man's presence.

"Uzumaki-san, sir, is there a problem?," the Hyuuga questioned. She stepped forward, tray pressed against the front of her skirt, worry in her eyes. Naruto's attitude had suddenly dimmed considerably. Was he upset with the meal? Naruto noticed the woman approaching him, and scratched at the back of his head embarrassedly.

"Sorry, Hinata. I missed that."

"I asked if you were alright, Mr. Uzumaki," she repeated.

"Oh!," Naruto exclaimed. "Yeah, no worries! I'm totally fine. And Hinata, I told you to call me Naruto. Mr. Uzumaki is my dad."

The raven female blushed a little. "I-i'm so-orry...n-Naruto...," she apologized profusely. It was always a little harder for her to talk to the man. Perhaps, if he wasn't already in love, she might have had a chance with him. She mentally sighed, trying to cool down her burning cheeks. She would never endanger 's and Naruto's happiness for a crush.

The door opened behind her, and she turned to see Sasuke enter. "Uchiha-san," she greeted, bowing. The older man inclined his head in her direction. "Hinata, leave us alone for a moment please." She bowed again, obeying the order and leaving the room.

Naruto finished off his fish, sitting back in bed. "What's up, Sasuke?," he asked, burping quietly. He excused himself when the raven gave him a look. Sasuke strode over to the bedside, taking away his dishes and putting them on the nightstand. "I came to say goodnight," the Uchiha answered. He seated himself on the edge of the bed.

Naruto stared at Sasuke puzzled, humming in appreciation when pale fingers ran through his blonde spikes. "Sasuke, I'll be fine, sleeping by myself. I've done it for years," the Uzumaki spoke up. He figured that that was what the bastard really wanted to know. His heart raced, glad that though silent as they were, Sasuke showed that he cared in his small ways.

"I'm leaving early tomorrow morning," Sasuke announced suddenly. Naruto looked at him, spotting the frown. "I won't be able to come see you in the morning."

"But you'll be here for dinner, right?," Naruto inquired, running a hand down the Uchiha's forearm. The raven nodded, and the blonde beamed. "Then no worries! I'll see you when you get back."

A small smile flitted across the raven's lips, disappearing from view as he leaned in, placing a kiss on the younger male's forehead. "Go to sleep, dobe," Sasuke whispered, pulling away. Naruto frowned at the nickname, shuffling a tiny bit, yanking the blanket over his form.

"Aren't you going to tuck me in, teme?," Naruto questioned the man's retreating form. Sasuke paused, turned around, a smirk spread across his face.

"Why, of course... Naru-chan."

The blonde blushed, but bit his lip to keep from making a retort, allowing Sasuke to come over and tuck him in. His eyelids fluttered close, while the raven was bunching the blankets along his sides. The smell of Sasuke's musk, and the heat coming from the man sent him off to sleep. The Uchiha pulled back when he was done, an eyebrow lifting as he noticed Naruto had fallen asleep.

"Idiot...," he mumbled affectionately, leaning down again and brushing a kiss on plump lips. He straightened back up, grabbing the Uzumaki's dishes, and striding out of the room. Hinata stood just outside the door, patiently waiting.

"He's fallen asleep," Sasuke told her, handing her the supper dishes. "He won't need any attention until tomorrow morning, when he wakes."

Hinata bowed her head. The Uchiha turned away, and headed to the guest bedrooms down at the other end of the hallway. "Have a good rest, Master," the Hyuuga said after her employer's retreating form. Not waiting for a response, because Sasuke never gave one, she turned in the opposite direction; heading to the kitchen, and then to bed.

* * *

"I'm bored. Bored, bored, bored." Naruto sighed, looking up at the ceiling of his canopy bed. "Bored. B-o-r-e-d. Boooo-red. Borrrrrred. Borie, Borie, Bored," he continued to chant. He added a little jingle to it. "I a boooo-bored, borrrred, borie, bored, borie, bored!"

_'Nope, not doing anything,'_ he thought frustratingly. He had hoped maybe doing something, anything (even making a commercial jingle out of the word 'bored') would eleviate his boredom. No such luck. "Stupid Sasuke. Leaving me here to rot away, while he's out, living it up!," Naruto huffed to himself. Okay, that definitely wasn't true. Sasuke didn't 'live it up', and the raven sure as hell didn't want to leave him alone for the day. But he was bored, and so Naruto was allowed to make up whatever ridiculous truths he felt like creating.

Sighing again, the blonde propped himself onto his elbows, moving ever so carefully until he was sitting up fully. Cerulean orbs turned to the side, looking out into the sunny day just beyond the glass. The sun was high in the sky now, so it had to be some time after lunch. "This is just pure torture," the Uzumaki grumbled. He had asked Hinata, when she came in to give him his breakfast, if she would draw the curtains for him.

He figured, if he was going to be bedridden, he might as well get a little sun out of it. But now, the drawn curtains were only showing him a view he was not allowed to step out into. And it was doing nothing for his boredom, either. "Just what am I to do?," he asked aloud, turning his head back to his bed. On Sasuke's side of the mattress lay a few books that Hinata had been kind enough to bring him (too bad he hated all of them), his PSP (which had died, and he couldn't find the charger), an assignment package on binary code and A.I (which he had finished, and was tired of homework), and his laptop.

Mulling his options over in his head, Naruto decided he might as well surf the net. He reached over and grabbed the orange equipment, dragging it over and plopping it in his lap. He turned the power on, lifting up the top and watching as the laptop booted itself up. As soon as the user screen came up, the Uzumaki typed in his password (miso ramen). The first thing he did when everything had loaded up, was open his media player, and started off by playing _Platinum Blonde_. What? He liked the oldies.

While the mellow beats of _'Doesn't Really Matter'_ filled the room, Naruto set himself to finding something to occupy himself with. At least until dinner time. He played a little solitaire, signed into msn (stupid time change. Noone was on!), then checked his email. After deleting a bunch of spam from Kiba, and replying to a couple emails from his other friends, the blonde went off to find a new wallpaper for his desktop. He searched for fifteen minutes, before settling on an amazing CG print of a ninja. Even when he finished putting it up, Naruto couldn't help but stare at the image.

The setting was a dark night with only a sliver of moonlight placed in the midnight blue sky. A few stars sparkled above, but a strong source of light took the attention, a yellow-green glow filling the bottom edge of the picture. Perched on the edge of a rooftop, partially covered in shadows, was the ninja. Long black hair slightly blew in the night wind, black eyes on a pale face looking down at the scene below. The man looked serious, maybe even contemplative, as he was holding the edges of his face scarf a few centimeters above his chin; either pulling it off or putting it back on. In his other hand, the ninja was holding a katanna. The blade was hidden on the inside of his navy clothed arm, so that no light would be reflected off the metal. Like a hawk, the ninja sat there poised, waiting for the perfect minute to strike. In a way, the ninja reminded Naruto of Sasuke.

"Okay, now I'm just being silly," Naruto breathed, blushing. He reopened the internet, randomly surfing for a bit. He saw a link for a blog and, somewhat interested, he clicked on it. The page opened up, **LiveJournal** reading across the top of the page. "Online journal, huh?," Naruto mused, directing his mouse to entries that were suggested. "Well, Sasuke did say that I should write a journal to pass the time."

The Uzumaki thought about it for a moment, before making his decision. He clicked on 'Create Account', and filled all the necessary information. Just as he was about to explore his new account, there was a click and the door opened. The blonde's head snapped up, to see Hinata step into the room. "G-good afternoon N-naruto," she greeted politely.

Naruto beamed at her. "Hey! What's up?"

Hinata blushed a little, standing aside and opening the door more. There was a man standing there, holding a collapsable table and a chair from the foyer. The stranger walked in, making his way over to Naruto's side, unfolding the table and setting it down. "What's this for?," Naruto asked, watching as the man started putting a table clothe on the table.

Hinata walked over, her arms laden with a heavy tray piled with plates and cutlery. "U-uchiha-sama called. He's on his way home, and he asked that a table be set up in your room," she answered, putting the tray down on the table. She gave the blonde a smile. "Master said th-that he would like to eat dinner with you tonight."

Naruto's cheeks burned, an embarrassed smile working its way onto his face. He turned his head down, grinning to himself. He glanced to the side and noticed that his things were still strewn all over the bed. "Then I guess I'd better tidy up a bit, huh?," Naruto asked, more to himself than the other two.

The raven giggled. "I'll h-help, Naruto-kun." Together the two worked to put the items back in the Uzumaki's bag, or into the drawers of the nightstand. After that, Hinata went to the bathroom, telling the other man to set the table. When she came back out she was holding a tub of warm water, a wash clothe, two towels, and a bar of soap. She laid the first towel on Naruto's lap, holding the small tub while the blonde washed up.

She went back to the bathroom again, dumping the tub and refilling it, bringing a toothbrush and toothpaste with her. "Hinata...," Naruto whined. "You should really just let me get up and walk to the bathroom so I can do this." Hinata shook her head.

"You must not walk if you want that leg to ever heal," she explained. "Besides, Sasuke-sama w-would be quite up-pset if he h-heard that you were up and about when you sh-shouldn't be." Naruto grumbled around his toothbrush, spitting into the tub. _'Well, at_ _least he didn't order her to brush my teeth for me,'_ the Uzumaki thought.

Hinata went to the bathroom one last time, taking all the items with her, coming out with only a brush. She attempted to comb the male's hair, but he refused to let her do such a thing. "Seriously, Hinata. I'm a big boy, and I can do this myself!," Naruto protested, yanking the thing out of the raven's hands.

The Hyuuga gave up, bowing just slightly. "U-understood, Na-aruto-kun," she replied. She walked over to the closest, and pulled out a clean, white shirt. "I-i'll leave so you can dressed now. I'll be back soon w-with dinner," she told the blonde, handing him the shirt.

"Alright. Thanks Hinata," Naruto said. The two left, closing the door behind them. He quickly stripped off his orange tee, and slipped the white shirt over his head, smoothing out the creases. Down with that, he slowly turned himself in the bed, so that he was seated facing the table.

While he was admiring the crystal dishes, the blonde heard the door open again. Thinking it was Hinata, he turned his head to greet the dark-haired girl, but instead found Sasuke standing in the doorway.

"By dinnertime, I had said," Sasuke spoke, as he crossed the room. Naruto rolled his eyes, letting the raven kiss him, before the older man took his seat across from him. "I hope your day was exciting, dobe."

Naruto playfully glared at the man, who smirked back in response. "Bastard...," he mumbled. The Uchiha knew just how boring his day was, and was rudely pointing it out. Not that Naruto really cared. Most of his boredom stemmed from being stuck in this house all day, and not seeing Sasuke at all since he woke. Not that he'd admit it. The Uzumaki would never hear the end of it.

Hinata entered the room, and placed their meals before both men, then leaving. "Let's eat," Sasuke said, lifting his glass in a sort of mock toast.

"Yeah, let's," Naruto agreed.

**C.M.D: Oh my god, to better understand how LiveJournal works, I actually went and made an account as I was writing this chapter. And I don't even like LJ. -Sigh- ...the things I do for my fanfics.  
Remember to review!!**


	2. Online Access

It was the beginning of a bright new day. The sun was up, and shining brilliantly, not that Naruto noticed. Downstairs, Hinata was bustling about, doing her duties. Sasuke was somewhere in the several studies in the mansion, doing some work. Uzumaki didn't exactly know what it was Sasuke did, but it was important as far as he knew. That meant that the blonde, for the time being, was being ignored. Not that the male cared at the moment. He was busying browsing through his new LiveJournal account.

His fingers made those little clack-clack sounds as they danced about the keyboard, pausing every once in a while, swirling his index finger around on the square of flat surface that was the mouse pad of his laptop. He was really having fun with this account. Well, it wasn't exactly fun per se.... but it was definitely interesting to say the least. Who knew there was sites like this on the internet? And all these really cool functions beat keeping a hand-written journal any day.

Sitting up straight, Naruto reached over to the side table, snatching a piece of toast off the plate waiting there. He stuffed the piece into his mouth, instantly returning to the screen. Most of his breakfast was already eaten, except for a couple slices of toast and a steaming mug of hot chocolate. The blonde had never been a fan of coffee really. If he did drink it, it was with at least ten teaspoons of sugar and a third of milk. Hinata obviously had noticed, because she took to serving him hot chocolate instead. More conservative that way, the Uzumaki guessed.

Naruto grinned in delight as he chose a background theme for his account. It was a perfect combination of a cartoon fox and frog. Blue eyes lingered on the smiling frog, the man thinking back to his own frog plushie. The blonde still had Gama-chan, along with Kyuubi. The green doll, fixed a few years ago, now sat on his bedroom shelf with a well-worn Kyuubi back home. Naruto smiled thoughtfully. He loved both those plushies very much. They respresented the greatest transitions of his life.

The Uzumaki shifted a bit, hunching over again to continue surfing about his journal. There was a click, as the bedroom door was opened up. Looking up, the blonde was glad to see that it was Sasuke standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Sasuke! What's up?"

The raven smirked, striding over to the bed. Naruto closed the laptop, pushing it off to the side. He'd continue later on. The whiskered man smiled brightly at the Uchiha, throwing his arms around Sasuke's neck when he sat down beside him.

"Dobe...,"Sasuke said, "I'm done the first part of my work. I will go back to my study soon, but I figured you would need something to do."

"Awww," Naruto cooed, nuzzling the raven's neck. The older man frowned at the response, but the light pink dust on his cheeks showed his true feelings. Sasuke was always sweet on him, even if subtly. And his boyfriend was so considerate, noticing that being inside all day was starting to become a drag for the energetic blonde.

The black-haired male rolled his eyes, slipping his arms loosely around the other's frame, pushing his nose into the golden spikes. He breathed deeply, wanting to take in the relaxing scent of the Uzumaki but pulled away instead, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"You stink," came the bland statement.

Naruto pushed away from Sasuke, mouth open in shocked indignation. "Teme!," he shouted, "You come up here, when you say you have work to do, and then have the audosity to say that I stink?!"

A smirk came to the raven's pale lips at the expected outburst, the older man pulling the blonde tight against his chest though the younger male struggled wildly. "It's not an insult, dobe, just a fact," the Uchiha soothed, shifting so that one arm was slung under Naruto's kicking legs, before standing up.

Naruto stopped struggling as his sense of balance was thrown off, fisting Sasuke's shirt as he was carried away from the bed. "You don't need to make insults," the Uzumaki pouted, "But apparently they just come naturally for you." Sasuke smirk grew only wider at that, and the blonde jutted his bottom lip out more, knowing that the raven was laughing at him on the inside.

The Uchiha carried his young lover to the room's adjoined bathroom, nudging the door open with his foot, and stepping inside; careful not to let Naruto's injured leg smack against anything. There was silence between the two males as Naruto was lowered into the porcelain jacuzzi tub, his casted leg slung over and out of the tub.

"I'm not taking a bath with my clothes on, am I?," Naruto asked, wondering if Sasuke would actually considering leaving him fully clothed.

The raven looked back at him, an eyebrow raised. The blonde pouted, knowing exactly what Sasuke was thinking. _Are you really that stupid, that you'd think you were taking a bath with your clothes on?_ Well, the Uzumaki did think it, and he didn't like his intelligence being questioned, even silently.

"Shut up," he muttered.

Sasuke was smirking again, as he approached the blonde, placing a bottle of bubblebath liquid on the floor while he leaned into the tub. "I didn't say anything, dobe," the raven replied sardonically. His fingers moved to unbutton the Uzumaki's pajama top.

"You were thinking it," Naruto shot back. He crossed his arms over his chest, stopping Sasuke from completing his task. Black eyes merely blinked at him, before the Uchiha moved to his boyfriend's pants, undoing the drawstring and slipping his fingers under the hem.

"Hey!," Naruto gasped, blushing madly as Sasuke suddenly yanked his pants down his thighs. "I can undress myself!"

Sasuke grinned deviously at the blonde, grabbing the flailing arms and pinning them against the tiled wall. "Come now, Na-ru-to," the raven murmured huskily. "You're hurt, and need to be taken care of." He pulled the pants the rest of the way off of the blonde's legs, leaving the Uzumaki's entire lower half exposed.

Naruto shivered. Partially from the hungry look Sasuke was giving him, and partially from the fact that his sensitive ass and other bits were being turned to ice from the frigid temperature of the icy tub. The raven leaned back into the tub, pushing closer to the struggling blonde. The older man's hand found its place on the Uzumaki's abdomen, rubbing circles into his flesh, slowly dipping lower.

"W-woah! Hey, s-stop a se-second!!"

Naruto wrestled an arm free from Sasuke's hold, throwing all of his weight into one swing and pushing the raven away from him, the Uchiha putting up a fair resistance in response. "No sex, no sex!," Naruto cried. "Remember what the doctor said!"

The raven looked him fully in the eyes, before breathing harshly out from his nose, and leaning back a bit. Naruto sighed, shifting in the tub until he was sitting up comfortably. He gave Sasuke his puppy-eyes, mentally pleading that the man not be angry with him. It wasn't that the blonde didn't want sex, it was just that, he didn't want to add complications to his healing process and then be forced to wait longer until the cast was taken off. Naruto didn't think he could handle that.

Sasuke leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek, showing that he didn't blame Naruto for refusing. That made the blonde grin widely. The Uchiha turned to the taps, turning on the hot water and plugging the drain. The younger male was left to take his own shirt off, tossing it somewhere over Sasuke's head, and sitting there; waiting for the tub to fill up.

"I want lots of bubbles," he told the raven.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, tipping the green bubblebath formula bottle upside down, letting the green liquid pour freely out of the bottle. "Happy now?," he asked the blonde.

Naruto smiled at him brightly, chuckling merrily. The bubbles had already risen up to the blonde's chest, and they were growing still, the rising water adding to their height. He reached over to the little shelf jutting out of the wall, grabbing his bottle of shampoo. "Aw, man," Naruto whined, "My shampoo's done."

"Just use mine," Sasuke said, getting to his feet. He walked to the other side of the room, opening up a little closet and grabbing a clean face clothe.

"But I don't wanna," the blonde pouted. "Yours smells like peppermint."

"I like peppermint," Sasuke replied. He turned around and walked back to the tub.

"Well, I don't."

"Beggars can't be choosers," the Uchiha told him. "Now, dunk your head."

* * *

Naruto pulled the blankets tighter around himself, plumping the pillows up behind him. Some of his spikes were still dripping wet from his bath, and lay plastered to his forehead and temples. The blonde chuckled. Bath time had turned into a sort of event between the two men. Sasuke had attempted to wash the Uzumaki, but the younger male wasn't about to let that happen. That was just a chance for Uchiha perversion to run free.

Not thinking, Naruto threw a fistful of bubbles at the raven's head, hand rubbing into the black spikes as he pushed away the other man. Wading back, the Uzumaki had to fight to stifle the giggles that rose when he caught sight of Sasuke. The male's black hair was soaking wet and coated in a film of bubble foam, the spikes at the back sagging with water. And the look of disheveled annoyance was _priceless_!

Sasuke retaliated with his own handful of bubbles, which caused Naruto to attack back in response. It was the start of a wide-blown water fight between the couple, splashing and sloshing water and bubbles everywhere; ending only when Naruto's cast smacked into the wall painfully. All goofing off had ceased right there, Sasuke suddenly panicking as he turned all his attention to the blonde and his injury. The Uzumaki was carefully lifted out of the tub, dried off, dressed and put back into bed. With a kiss, and a reluctant goodbye, Sasuke returned to his office; only after buzzing around Naruto for an hour, checking to see that the blonde was really okay.

Naruto let out a sigh, chuckling once more at the memory. Despite the fact that his leg was still hurting a little, his moment of silliness -with Sasuke no less- had been relaxing. "Now, back to business!," Naruto chirped. He reached over and pulled his laptop back onto his lap, pulling the monitor up. It was still open onto his LiveJournal account, waiting for him on the Profile Editing page.

Naruto went right back to work, messing around with the settings, and tweaking his account to fit his style. He was so caught up in what he was doing, that the blonde missed the knock at the door and was surprised when Hinata entered the room.

"G-good afternoon, N-naruto-san," the raven greeted, shutting the door behind her.

Naruto looked up from his laptop, welcoming the maid with a bright smile. "Hi, Hinata! How's it going?"

Hinata smiled back, walking toward the bed. "I-i came to bring you s-some lunch. A-and also to check up on y-you. Uchiha-san informed me t-that you accidentally b-bumped your leg," she told him.

The blonde took notice of the tray in the Hyuuga's hands, and his stomach took that moment to grumble. Blushing embarrasedly, Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks Hinata. Never realized I was hungry until just now," he laughed.

Hinata picked up the tray on the side table, replacing it with the one that she had walked into the room with. Cerulean orbs zoned into the plate of lasagne, a side bowl of cesear salad and small slice of the most delicious chocolate cake the Uzumaki had ever laid eyes on. All of it was served on pretty china, even the iced tea was in a sparkling crystal glass.

"Oh, wow," Naruto breathed. "No matter how many times you prepare the food, I'm still always a little amazed with all the effort you put into it, Hinata."

The woman blushed at the comment, bowing. "T-thank you fo-or your k-kind words, Naruto-san," she whispered softly. Her lavender orbs fell onto the laptop opened on the blonde lab.

"I-if I may ask, wh-what are you w-working on?," the Hyuuga asked.

Naruto looked at her, then at his laptop. "Oh, I'm not really working on anything. Just setting up an online journal. Sasuke-teme mentioned it as something I could do to keep myself busy. But don't tell him that I'm writing one. We don't need anything, no matter how small it is, to feed that guy's ego, 'kay?," Naruto explained.

Hinata smiled, finding it wonderful how both her Master and Naruto-san loved each other very much, even though they could act a little childish sometimes. Maybe that was part of the charm of their relationship? She nodded her head anyways and replied to the blonde's question. "I won't tell Uchiha-san," she promised.

"I must be heading back to work," the raven regretably informed the Uzumaki, "I have other duties that I need to attend to before dinner."

"That's fine," Naruto replied. "I mean, I understand. I guess I'll see you at dinner then."

Hinata nodded, bowing one last time, before heading to the door. "Enjoy your meal," she said, exiting from the room.

The delicious scent from his noonday meal was starting to make the blonde drool, but Naruto didn't want to eat just yet. He turned back to his laptop screen, scrolling through his profile page with all its new adjustments. He was nearly finished now, all he had to do next was give it a title. But what to call it?

Naruto plopped his chin into the cradle of his palm, lips pressing together thoughtfully. He wanted to make a great name for his journal, not something plain or stupid. But the food was making his stomache hurt more and he didn't think he could wait any longer to eat. Then it hit him.

"Yes, it's perfect!," Naruto exclaimed to himself.

Typing quickly, he wrote down the journal name, picking a red-to-orange gradient for the letters. Smiling broadly to himself, Naruto read out loud his journal name. "The Chronicles of Uzumaki Naruto."

Okay, so maybe it was a little cheesy, but this was his journal. His life was epic, so why not give it such an epic title? His fingers continued typing, now working on writing his first post. Naruto fidgeted abit in place. He was getting really hungry now, and the delicious smell of lunch was getting really hard to resist. It was definitely time to wrap this up. Saving everything, Naruto logged out and closed his laptop. Tomorrow he would write more.

* * *

**_What's up!!  
This is the first time I have ever kept a journal. I really have no idea what I'm doing, but you know this site definitely helps a little. And it's really interesting. I mean, I would never have been able to decorate every page of a store-bought journal with this awesome picture as the header. Still, I'm not really sure what to talk about. Girls have diaries -this is totally not a diary by the way- and they start them from when they're really young, writing in them everyday. I'm already 20, and like I said, this is my first time keeping a journal. ....That makes me sound like a virgin... LOL, sorry, had a moment there. If I make a lewd comment, it's most likely because of the people I've grown up with. Now that I think about it... writing about the people in my life would probably be a good start! But in order to do that, I'm going to have to start at the beginning._**

**_Not that I don't remember myself. But I figure, this is a journal and it's personal and shit, so I can do whatever the hell I want really. Not to mention that this whole third-person speaking, and an auto-biography might help my 90-year-old self in the future; when my teeth are falling out and Alzheimer's kicking in. Of course, that's if I remember my password at that age. LOL  
Then again, I can just print this out later for myself to have. But whatever. I like the convenience of this online journal. Makes my words more legible and neat, not to mention it's more private this way. Considering that I'll be the only to access this, since it's my account and all. Wait a second...._**

**_Well, it seems that I'll have to do my first official entry tomorrow. I just got a homework assignment in my inbox. Need to start it now, since it'll take me a while to actually do, and the deadline's in five days. ...What do I say when I'm signing off? Oh, I know.... Ja Ne!!_**

**

* * *

**

C.M.D: I am so thankful that I only had to search about LiveJournal for a little bit, and learn the basics of the functions, so now I can totally forget about that stupid account! Yay! Anyways... geez, I've been feeling really lazy lately. I try to update my fics, but I just don't really have the drive. Still, I'm happy that I was able to get this chapter done and it's at least satisfactory.  
So now Naruto has his own LiveJournal account. Oh, what fun I shall have now! Hehehehe!!


	3. First Entry: Family

**C.M.D: Geez, it's been a while since I updated this. I hope you guys are still interested, and not too annoyed with me. Anyways... THANKS FOR REVIEWING: Paft, skyglazingMaro, 11OneDone2Many, ChibiNekoBandit. When I was trying to get inspired for the next chapter, I kept coming back and re-reading your reviews. They greatly helped me while I was busy tracking down my muse. In either case, I hope everyone enjoys the update that I'm sure some of you were desperately waiting for. Read on~**

_**

* * *

It's weird writing a journal. Well, I mean, it's not that weird since many people do it. I guess I'm just lacking in the whole 'writing down your thoughts' thing. I've never done it before; never had a reason to. But boredom creates new hobbies and apparently this is mine. Strange, isn't it? I know my best friend Kiba would be shocked as fuck if he knew I was keeping a journal, online or not.**_

_**Well, dog-breath, it's not like I can do much else!**_

_**Can't even get out of bed... Stupid me, broke my leg. I'm still in school -thankfully- because of a certain someone. I won't mention him just yet; because I know without a doubt the sight of his name within the first couple of entries will boost his already over-inflated ego. He likes to think my world revolves around him...**_

_**Okay, it does a little... but sometimes my revolutions carry me a little away from the teme. Alas, I said I wouldn't mention him, yet here I am still talking about him! Let's try to get some focus here...**_

_**Now, how should I start this journal off? I believe I mentioned that I never had one before, right? Right...**_

_**Most people would already have a catalog of the basic stuff: family, friends. Hmmm... family, that sounds like a good start. Alrighty then, my dad. In more ways than one, my dad and myself are alike. We have similar appearances -blonde hair, blue eyes- and we're both pretty loud and determined; ambitious too. We share a number of hobbies and tastes as well. When I finally hit my teens, many people who didn't know us assumed we were twins. It was funny watching my dad get super uncomfortable when girls in my grade would start hitting on us. But you know... our relationship wasn't always so great.**_

_**I know, I know; many people say that about their 'rents. But this was a little different. See, I hated him since my 8th birthday because he made that special someone leave me...**_

* * *

He slammed the car door shut, not even looking back once as he turned around and stormed up the school's steps, heading to where his best friend Kiba waited for him. The brunet lifted his head at the blonde's huffing, chin just poking out from the baggy grey sweater he wore. "Hey fox-face!," the preteen greeted. "'Nother fight this morning?"

"No," Naruto bit out, stomping to the front doors. Kiba rolled his eyes, getting to his feet and following closely on the Uzumaki's heels.

"Sure," the dog-lover said, "The only reason time you get driven to school is if you and your dad get into a fight just as the bus arrives."

"It wasn't a fight!," the blonde snapped. The brunet raised his hands placatingly.

"My bad. 'Disagreement'," he amended. Naruto wisely decided not to retaliate. He swung the school door open so quickly that he would have taken the Inuzuka out, if Kiba hadn't been smart enough to jump back in time. The boy glanced at the blonde warily, before following him into the building. The low hum of straggling students on their way to first period class met their ears as they entered; and for the moment, both boys decided to remain silent as they headed for their own class of the morning: math.

"God, I hate math...," Kiba groaned, strutting into the classroom. The teacher glared at him from her desk, but the brunet shrugged it off; walking with Naruto to the very back of the class, where their seats were. Sitting down, he could see that his friend was still fuming. "Geez man! If you're that upset, why don't you talk to your dad?"

"He won't listen," the Uzumaki replied flatly.

"Come on," Kiba persisted. "We're in middle school. We shouldn't be having fights like this with our 'rents for another couple of years at least."

"Kiba... drop it," Naruto warned.

"Drop it!," Kiba cried, flabbergasted. "I can't just drop it! Man, every day you get even more depressed. You keep fighting with your dad and, despite what you say, I know it's killing you. You don't want to be doing this constantly! Fighting about some dude who left-"

The bell rang shrilly above their heads, cutting the brunet off. Kiba determinedly opened his mouth all the same, read to start off from where he had left off. A hand clamped down hard on his shoulder and the Inuzuka looked behind him to see that the math teacher had made her way around the room to their corner -yet again. "Quiet now boys," she said lowly, a large, fake smile stretched over her face. "The morning anthem is starting."

Kiba frowned, rising to his feet as the first notes of _Star-Spangled Banner_ began playing through the P.A system. Beside him, Naruto rose to his feet as well; coldly turning away from his friend. The brunet's scowl deepened. There was no way he was letting this conversation just drop.

* * *

"Hey Gaara," Kiba greeted, dropping to the floor beside the redhead. Gaara glanced up from his textbook, glaring at the brunet before turning away. Kiba sniffed at the cold treatment, stretching his legs out across the hallway floor, trying to get comfortable. "Dude, I already know you don't like me. So can you quit with the attitude? I wouldn't even talk to you if it wasn't for Naruto."

A sideways glance from the goth kid easily said 'I feel the exact way about you.' Ignoring it, the Inuzuka continued with his spiel.

"Anyways, the only reason I'm here is because I need your help. And you could probably use some in the popularity category," Kiba added snidely. This pulled Gaara away from his textbook entirely; he glared at a kid striding down the hall, making the boy tremble and run in the opposite direction.

"Get to your point, Inuzuka," the redhead growled, turning his attention to the brunet. Kiba shifted uncomfortably under the dissecting stare of the pale green orbs.

"You gimme the heebie-jeebies. You know that, right?"

"Good," was Gaara's bland reply. "Point?," he repeated, losing patience.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...," Kiba started, scratching at his cheek. "Anyways, here's the deal: Naruto keeps fighting with his dad, and we need to get him to stop. He's in the cafe at the moment so if you would just gather your books, we can head right on over and get to ta-"

A shadow fell over the other's coal-lined eyes. "No," Gaara replied, turning away from Kiba, leaving the boy to blink in surprise.

"What do you mean 'no'?," he shouted angrily. "Dude, he can't keep fighting with his dad. It's not right!"

Gaara stuffed his textbook into his bad, rising to his feet in one fluid movement. Kiba copied him, grabbing the redhead's sleeve. "Hey, don't ru-" Kiba choked on the last of his words as Gaara spun around, slamming him into the wall, effectively breaking the brunet's grip on him. Keeping the Inuzuka pinned, the other boy leaned in close, his pale eyes boring into Kiba.

"Don't touch me," Gaara growled. "And don't force Naruto to do something he doesn't want to. How can you understand anything of his situation? How dare you dictate what he's feeling; as if you could know."

Scowling, an emotion not seen on the emotionless boy's face often, Gaara pulled away from Kiba. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stalked off down the hall. Kiba rubbed at his chest, huffing angrily. "Thanks for your help, asshole!," he shouted at the redhead's back.

A teacher stuck her head out of a classroom, frowning. "Inuzuka! In here, now!" Grumbling, Kiba walked over to the woman.

* * *

When the release bell rang, Naruto couldn't wait to get home. Actually, the thought of returning home to his dad made the blonde frown, but it was better than staying at school and listening to Kiba's ranting. Preparing himself, Naruto made sure he had all his things packed a few minutes before the end of class; heading for the door even before the bell had rung. The teacher tried to stop him but was forced to step down when the bell went; the students jumping to their feet. Moving quickly, to avoid the afternoon rush as much as slip by Kiba, the Uzumaki hurried down the hallway; rounding the corners, closing in on the school's front doors.

He was passing by the boy's washroom when a hand flashed out from behind the blue doors, snatching him around the collar and dragging the blonde inside. Naruto sputtered indignantly, fighting against his captor's hold. "G-gaara!," he shouted in surprise, after he managed to turn himself around.

The redhead blinked, refusing to release his hold, no matter how many times the blonde tugged. "We need to talk."

"Listen," Naruto huffed, giving up after a moment, "Can't this wait until later? I have a bus to catch."

Gaara shook his head. "No. Have you been fighting with your dad?"

"What? No!," Naruto replied; a little too quickly for the goth's liking. Gaara's eyes narrowed, and he stared at the blonde intensely, until the Uzumaki was red in the face and avoiding eye contact with the redhead. "I don't see how that's any of your business," Naruto said lowly, scowling at the floor.

"Naruto," Gaara hissed. He paused as the door swung open, admitting a young sixth grader. The boy froze in the doorway, blinking owlishly at the two older boys. When he did not leave, Gaara narrowed his eyes into further slits, growling "Get out"; to which the boy did gladly, tripping over himself the entire way. Naruto shook his head, drawing the redhead's attention.

"You shouldn't do that, you know," the blonde reprimanded. "This is why everyone's so afraid of you." Gaara ignored the comment, letting Naruto go; turning to lock the bathroom door. "Dude, what are you doing? I have to go home."

"Not until you've told me what's going on," Gaara said. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at his friend. The transition from school yard bully to friend had been a long time coming with Gaara, but Naruto was glad to say that the emotionless boy was indeed his friend. He had saved Gaara's life many times since their friendship in fourth grade; a friendship helped by Sasuke... The Uzumaki would do nothing that could endanger his and Gaara's camaraderie, but he would not explain this to the goth either. How could he understand?

"Nothing is going on," Naruto answered. "Why the hell are you suddenly bugging me about this anyhow? It was Kiba, wasn't it!" Gaara did not acknowledge this accusation but his silence to the question confirmed it to Naruto. "I swear when I see that mutt, I'm gonna-"

"Naruto," Gaara cut off the blonde. He looked at the Uzumaki seriously, jaw clenched tightly. "Are you, or are you not, fighting with your dad?"

Naruto fell quiet, his arms dropping to his side; his gaze also falling to the floor. "Stop asking me," he whispered. Gaara stepped closer to his friend.

"Is he hurting you?," came the goth's hushed reply. This time, Naruto's whole head bowed, hiding his expression from the redhead. To Gaara's question, the Uzumaki shook his head, shoulders lifting around his ears in defence.

"It's not the same...," was his gargled answer. Gaara noted instantly that Naruto was crying. "I-it's not the same a-at all," the blonde choked. He lifted his tear-stained face to the redhead, fists reaching up and grasping at his hair desperately. "I-i hate him! B-but I-i don't wa-want to. H-he's my d-dad and I-i lo-love him... b-but he ma-made Sa-suke leave! I-i-i wish... I d-don't want it t-to be l-like this..."

Gaara didn't know what to say. Unlike Naruto, he carried no affection for his dad. His father was an evil bastard who hated him; and Gaara hated him back just as equally. He was unable to relate to his friend in this moment... but that didn't mean the redhead was completely useless. The concept of kindness was vague to him, yet he knew it had something to do with that warm, instinctual urge that lay in his gut; ever since he first listened to his prodding and picked up the raccoon plushie stuffed in his cubby. He followed its direction now, reaching out and pulling his friend into a hug. Though it was uncomfortable, Gaara held still as Naruto shoved his face into the goth's chest, his tears dampening the crimson material of his shirt. He stayed that way, his arms loosely enclosing the blonde; letting Naruto cry as much as he needed until the Uzumaki had cried himself empty.

"It's time for you to go home," Gaara said after a couple more minutes. Sniffling, Naruto pulled back, wiping at his eyes.

"Yeah... sorry Gaara." The redhead did not reply to the apology, gently grasping the blonde's wrist and leading them out of the washroom.

* * *

The house was dark when he got home.

Naruto padded up the front steps anxiously, staring at the door for a few moments before entering. Light spilled from the kitchen out into the hallway, making a contrast from the black walls and the yellow strip of light. No voice called out but the blonde could clearly hear his dad moving about in the kitchen; the clink of a porcelain cup that he no doubt had been sipping at all day. Slipping off his shoes, Naruto headed up the stairs. He stomped his feet as he went, to let his dad know he was home and that he was still angry. As usual, a strained silence fell in the kitchen, before there was the loud clanging of pots and pans. To escape the ruckus, Naruto quickly entered his room, shutting the door behind him. With a sigh, the boy flopped on his bed.

He stayed laying on his stomach, gazing at his dresser across the room. Even in the darkness he could make out the distinct shape of his plushies; Gama-chan recently fixed, sitting nestled beside a much loved Kyuubi. For some inexplicable reason, the sight of them brought the preteen to tears."Stupid Gaara," he mumbled, wiping messily at his eyes as he rolled onto his back.

Despite cursing his friend, the blonde felt no actual hostility to the redhead. How could he? From downstairs echoed the actions of his dad; Minato performing what sounded like a one-man cymbal orchestra. Hearing his old man continue his cacophony bit by bit tore at Naruto's heart. He really didn't hate his dad. The first year that Sasuke was gone that's what it felt like... but as the months dragged on, the child found it harder and harder to reconnect with his dad. Every time he and Minato got even close to having a decent conversation, it blew up in a shouting match; each hurling sharp, dangerous insults at the other, until one left the room. Naruto had been able to pretend that none of this was happening in the beginning, but then one day, when Kiba was coming over for a homework assignment, he and his dad had another row. With horror, Naruto realized later that the Inuzuka had been standing outside their front door while they were fighting. Kiba had been kind enough (or too uncomfortable) to say anything except to suggest they go to the library instead.

Slowly, Naruto sat up. In about an hour, his dad would call up the staircase for dinner; taking his own plate to his office so his son could eat in the kitchen. The knowledge of such a routine upset the blonde further. Before he could even contemplate it any more, the Uzumaki rose to his feet. He opened his bedroom door silently, tip-toeing down the stairs. Minato was still making a ruckus in the kitchen, masking Naruto's approach. Nervously, the blonde put his hand on the door frame, stepping into the room.

His dad faced the cupboards and so did not notice the boy at his back; still, Naruto trembled like a leaf. As he padded further into the room, a pot slipped from Minato's hands. Naruto, close enough to the man now, leaned forward and caught the falling pot; just as his dad turned around to grab it. Eyes meeting, both blondes froze. Only when Naruto broke eye contact first -turning his gaze to his hands- did they finally move again, shuffling a couple steps back from each other. Silently, Naruto held out the pot, waiting for Minato to take it. He did, hesitantly, turning to the sink immediately after to fill it with water.

Noticing the packet of pasta on the counter, the youngest Uzumaki reached for another pot int he cupboard; ducking into the lower cupboards for a bottle of spaghetti sauce. As he set the sauce-filled pot on the stove, his father, standing at the stove now, only stiffened. But as no cruel words were spoken, and no movement made but the stirring of their individual pots, Minato finally began to relax. Naruto dared a glance up at the man, who had at that very moment decided to look down as well. Their eyes met a second time, and Naruto was shocked to see tears in his dad's eyes; an almost relieved smile on his lips. Unsurprisingly, this brought tears to the child's own eyes and he turned back to his pot, embarrassed. Minato did not mind. The silence between the two blondes was not as tense as usual, and for the first time in a while, Naruto felt at peace.

A small, hopeful smile worked its way onto the preteen's lips.

* * *

_**I love my dad. I really do, and I am super glad that we managed to make up. I don't think I could have made it through my teen years if we were constantly at each other's throats still. Not to say that I didn't have friends; I managed to rope so many people to my side, it's unbelievable. I can't figure out how that happened even now. Kiba likes to joke and say it's because of special pheromones and shit. That beast would know... he's the one with bestiality all over his hard drive. Ah, you know I'm kidding. I love you Inzuka. ...in a total, unsexual way because I already have my teme.**_

_**Dammit, talking about him again... Not mentioning him is harder than I thought.**_

_**Still, ignoring my "animal magnetism" when it comes to getting friends; I don't think I would have been able to deal quite as much with all the retarded high school bullshit if I didn't have my dad on my side. He definitely helped give me perspective on a lot of difficult things, offering whatever advice he could. Trust the words of a dude whose been all over the world. Seriously, if they haven't learned anything from seeing how different people live and react in different environments, than he's a complete idiot.**_

_**It was hard telling my dad after my graduation that I was going to Japan. He wasn't expecting that, I know. He thought I was going to go into journalism or something, like him, at a regular American college. Definitely a tense conversation. But that's a topic for another day, yeah? I'd probably mention more but Hinata just came in with a giant bowl of **_**RAMEN!**

_**Dude, I seriously love ramen.**_

_**Like, really, really, really, fucking-die-hard-for, injured-myself-because-of-it-but-still-would-jizz-a-little-due-to-its-awesomeness LOVE.**_

_**Am I mental?**_

_**More than assuredly so.**_

_**Right, right moving on from my near, psychotic and perverted break; I'm ending this journal for today. I'll probably be back tomorrow. I'm bed-ridden after all. Okay, finishing for real this time!**_

_**JA NE!**_

**C.M.D: Fanfiction kinda sucks... they won't let me do my sub-letters or crossouts... Boo!**_**  
**_


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